Quotes of the day

posted at 9:00 pm on January 15, 2011 by Allahpundit

“3. New York Times columnist Paul Krugman was one of the first prominent pundits to jump on the blame-Palin bandwagon. ‘We don’t have proof yet that this was political, but the odds are that it was,’ blogged Krugman the afternoon of the shooting. ‘[Giffords has] been the target of violence before. And for those wondering why a Blue Dog Democrat, the kind Republicans might be able to work with, might be a target, the answer is that she’s a Democrat who survived what was otherwise a GOP sweep in Arizona, precisely because the Republicans nominated a Tea Party activist. (Her father says that ‘the whole Tea Party’ was her enemy.) And yes, she was on Sarah Palin’s infamous ‘crosshairs’ list.’

***
“So, what about political rhetoric? If Loughner had developed a psychotic condition, such rhetoric might have sounded more extreme to him than it really was, according to Jeffrey Swanson, a psychiatry professor at Duke University School of Medicine. ‘Take something you or I might find mildly threatening. For the person with impaired perception of reality, that can get exaggerated to the point of being incredibly threatening.’

“We also know that delusional patients in different cultures have different kinds of misperceptions of the world. One study, by the Tokyo Metropolitan College of Allied Medical Sciences, compared schizophrenic delusions among patients in Tokyo and Vienna and found that European patients tended toward fantasies about poisoning and odd religious ideas, while the Japanese had delusions that they were being ‘slandered,’ which the authors surmise ‘may derive from the group-oriented self in Japanese ‘shame culture.” Such studies suggest that the broader culture — which would include the political climate — could affect the content of a psychotic person’s delusions, including what or whom the person perceives as threats.

“But those who say right-wing rhetoric was the one factor tipping Loughner misunderstand the complex nature of psychosis. ‘No single variable explains violence in schizophrenia,’ write Swanson and eight colleagues in a 2006 paper published in the Archives of General Psychiatry. ‘Rather, violent behavior occurs within a social-ecological system involving a ‘whole person’ with a particular life history and state of health.’ In short, saying Sarah Palin or Glenn Beck caused Loughner’s actions is, to put it charitably, completely idiotic.”

“Respondents were asked to rate Sarah Palin on a scale from 1-7 regarding likeability, believability and sincerity, with 1 representing “not at all strong in this attribute” and 7 representing “extremely strong in this attribute.”

“With the exception of likeability among Democrats, Palin’s attribute ratings increased among all parties after viewing her speech. The most notable increase was her sincerity ratings, which increased from 2.62 to 2.69 among Democrats, from 5.25 to 5.45 among Republicans and from 3.68 to 3.85 among Independents.”

***
“Beck visited O’Reilly for his weekly segment to talk gender bias in the political sphere, and whether Sarah Palin and Michele Bachmann were subject to more vicious attacks. O’Reilly didn’t buy this argument, asking Beck if it were possible for the vitriol against him to be worse than it is now. Beck seemed to agree, modestly, that he was one of the more hated figures in political media, and gave up data on why: ‘I have 15 operating threats on me at any given time.’ Despite the violent threats, however, Beck continued to argue that ‘Americans are fair and decent, and they’re not looking for revenge or anything else,’ and encouraged public and private figures alike to take his new pledge to ‘renounce violence regardless of ideology,’ something he perceived as essential for the strength of the nation, especially in light of the recent violence.”

***
“Toward the end of the town hall meeting Saturday morning, one of the shooting victims, J. Eric Fuller, took exception to comments by two of the speakers: Ariz. state Rep. Terri Proud, a Dist. 26 Republican, and Tucson Tea Party spokesman Trent Humphries.

“According to sheriff’s deputies at the scene, Fuller took a photo of Humphries and said, ‘You’re Dead.’

“Deputies immediately escorted Fuller from the room.

“Pima County Sheriff’s spokesman Jason Ogan said later Saturday that Fuller has been charged with threats and intimidation and he also will be charged with disorderly conduct.”

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You’re the best. I’d hate to have you mad at me!
At the last TP meeting I attended, the main topic of discussion when we were in visiting time, was centered around the fact that the left is absolutely vile following last years election, and that this vile behavior will lead to violence towards civil protest against Obama and his socialist agenda of any kind. We talked about protection; having people walking the outer circles with eyes wide open. I’d be a fool to not recognize the threat that is sweeping across America from the lefties who are being spoon fed hatred and led to believe that violence is warranted. Anybody that doubts this reality was not watching the coordinated efforts coming from the mouth piece of the socialist party, the MSM over the past week. Obama played the Mr. Cool role as planned, after waiting four days for the message to be delivered by his mouth piece. It’s all so obvious…

“According to sheriff’s deputies at the scene, Fuller took a photo of Humphries and said, ‘You’re Dead.’

“Deputies immediately escorted Fuller from the room.
“Pima County Sheriff’s spokesman Jason Ogan said later Saturday that Fuller has been charged with threats and intimidation and he also will be charged with disorderly conduct.”

You’re the best. I’d hate to have you mad at me!
At the last TP meeting I attended, the main topic of discussion when we were in visiting time, was centered around the fact that the left is absolutely vile following last years election, and that this vile behavior will lead to violence towards civil protest against Obama and his socialist agenda of any kind.

Keemo on January 16, 2011 at 7:13 AM

Keemo: Yes,unbelievable,and thats the real story,ObamaVoter
Bot Backlash,and I think,the Threat from the Left is
real,and,Sarah Palin snuffed out there Progressive
dreams,and are,trying to finish off Sarah’s Political
future by the collective finger pointing!!!!:)

The story line in this link is one that we should be staging peaceful protests over… This is a story line that the mouth piece does not want to report on.

canopfor, Sarah is at risk big time. If anything happens to Sarah all hell is going to break loose in America, as she was the 1st and main target of the mouth piece, and their desired goal was to have Sarah receive the same treatment that was so tragically given to all of those other innocent people in Tuscon.

Here’s a chilling thought though. Imagine what will happen if and when (God forbid) some psycho who’s a self-described tea partier and Palin fan goes off the deep end and does something similarly horrible.

And that is precisely why the GOP leadership and punditry totally failed by not debating the absurdity that one single person’s actions can never be used to take away the freedoms of 300 million who didn’t do the dastardly deed.

The left plays the right like a stradivarious, when, where, and however it choses, whille the right is perfectly happy being reduced to complaining fools – little “pat us on the head” puppy dogs who’ll stop barking and put their tails between legs return to their doghouse whenever the leftist masters point that way. America isn’t dying- it’s committing mass suicide. The torch of freedom deserves to move somewhere else.

Sarah Palin is an example (lone example) of a political head that refused to cower to the socialist mouth piece; this is why she must be destroyed at any cost. How dare this stupid winch from the nothing state of Alaska stand in our way! I have asked several people I know (various community committees) who hate Sarah with a passion why they hate her; not one of them gave a reasoned answer attached to an act of hers… They all hate her because they are being spoon fed the hatred and because she has been successful in exposing the lefties for who and what they are. Sarah is being used by the socialist mouth piece as an example of what these vile people will do to any Republican who dares go where Sarah has gone. The only logical solution I can think of for this is to confront it head on. Sites such as this one are doing that while giving the rest of us an opportunity to spread these truths and arguments around the country by way of email, FB, and other social networks. We the people are having this debate with or without political representation.

For this dynamic alone, I admire and respect both Ed and Allah Pundit.

Fer real, or dry Aussie wit? Would love to hear examples. We clearly need some help over here. :-)

Firefly_76 on January 16, 2011 at 7:38 AM

This week for example.

Barack Obama’s “memorial” /campaign speech for the Arizona shooting victims and Julia Gillard’s press conferences about the floods in Australia. Both sounded like campaign speeches but there was a backlash against Gillard’s tone and she changed.

When is America going to force Obama to change his rhetoric and start acting like a President?

Sarah is at risk big time. If anything happens to Sarah all hell is going to break loose in America, as she was the 1st and main target of the mouth piece, and their desired goal was to have Sarah receive the same treatment that was so tragically given to all of those other innocent people in Tuscon.

Keemo on January 16, 2011 at 7:44 AM

Keemo:On the barrel of oil,yup,thats gonna sink Hopeys ship,
if it keeps climbing,and I heard,on radio news breaks
after the Arizona shootings,that her security was step
ped up!

“But those who say right-wing rhetoric was the one factor tipping Loughner misunderstand the complex nature of psychosis.

They also misunderstand logic and the linear nature of time. Loughner first formed the idea to kill Giffords in 2007. The “right-wing rhetoric” of the 2010 elections, or even the 2008 elections, could not have influenced Loughner’s mind in 2007.

Last week’s ruling by the private radio regulator Canadian Broadcast Standards Council (CBSC) to ban a Dire Straits song is “chilling” and effectively puts rock radio stations on notice, claims a longtime music industry expert.

Former Billboard Canadian bureau chief and current CelebrityAccess senior editor Larry LeBlanc says the fallout from banning Canadian private radio stations from airing the unedited version of the 1985 hit “Money For Nothing” — specifically for its repeated mention of the word “faggot” in a verse of the song — could resonate with music programmers for some time to come.

We are in imminent danger of an extremely violent national collapse which is exactly what obama is pushing for, on all fronts. Then comes martial law and never again or trumped up elections. And internet oblivion.

tigerlily: This is what bothers me about those pundits and politicians and media dopes who fail to see the big picture.

Our nation has a horrible deficit and no budget. OPEC is pushing up the price of crude oil, and we have an ineffective, indeed economic- and security-damaging energy policy. We have neutered our missile defense program. We have an fiscally bleeding “health care” law on the books. Our jobs and housing outlook is grim. And this simpleton in the WH wants to address educational issues?!???

Education policy and funding is a local and state responsibility, not a federal one. If the whole Department of Education were tossed into the ash heap of history, the education of our nation’s young would probably improve. The Feds tie all kinds of dollars to their social engineering efforts at the expense of real learning.

As long as we elevate and listen to the self-appointed “betters,” the nation will continue its decline as a world leader and tumble into hopeless chaos.

Fox has been trending in this direction for quite some time now. Given the opportunity, the socialist mouth piece eventually infiltrates everything we hold dear to our heats and minds. They are in to win and behave methodically and patiently.

“Pima County Sheriff’s spokesman Jason Ogan said later Saturday that Fuller has been charged with threats and intimidation and he also will be charged with disorderly conduct.”

He’s now undergoing a mental evaluation. Karma has a little sister, all right. The media made this man go crazy after being the victim of a madman’s shooting rampage. The media said Palin, Tea Party, Beck, Limbaugh and this man, undoubtedly traumatized, responded accordingly. Thank goodness it was a camera he had and not a gun.

The story line in this link is one that we should be staging peaceful protests over… This is a story line that the mouth piece does not want to report on.

canopfor, Sarah is at risk big time. If anything happens to Sarah all hell is going to break loose in America, as she was the 1st and main target of the mouth piece, and their desired goal was to have Sarah receive the same treatment that was so tragically given to all of those other innocent people in Tuscon.

Keemo on January 16, 2011 at 7:44 AM

They still don’t get it. Powerline still thinks the recession was caused by the housing meltdown. but they fail to see what caused the housing meltdown which was $4.00/gal gas. As gas went up the amount of people able to pay their home loans went down and this the $4.00/gal set in motion a chain of effects that led to credit freezing up. the sad part is the rich only saw the recession coming when that credit froze and thus have failed to piece together the direct cause of the recession and ALL the policies submitted since the recession began have not once addresses this cause of the downturn and thus nothing has worked.

They still don’t get it. Powerline still thinks the recession was caused by the housing meltdown. but they fail to see what caused the housing meltdown which was $4.00/gal gas. As gas went up the amount of people able to pay their home loans went down and this the $4.00/gal set in motion a chain of effects that led to credit freezing up. the sad part is the rich only saw the recession coming when that credit froze and thus have failed to piece together the direct cause of the recession and ALL the policies submitted since the recession began have not once addresses this cause of the downturn and thus nothing has worked.

We are ruled by idiots who live in a freaking bubble.

unseen on January 16, 2011 at 9:54 AM

The property market was and still is a huge problem , the oil price spike was just the icing on the cake.

A new contest announced for lame stream Media!
(1)Name one thing Sarah Palin has done right. (2) Then explain in 100 words or less why that moved her as a leader of considerable importance to millions of people.
(Tea Partiers are excluded from this contest because they have a built in advantage of being able to understand the plain English she speaks.)